The Narthex
New Oxford Blog

That 'Poor Church for the Poor'
In reality, Church institutions must be self-sufficient and self-sustaining
By John M. Grondelski | March 28th 2025 11:36 AMTwo pundits from opposite ends of the political spectrum manage to reach the same conclusion: being a “poor Church” really stinks for the really poor. Writing in the left-leaning La Croix, Massimo Faggioli of Villanova University bemoans the many harms he imagines Trump 2.0 poses for the Church (see READ FULL BLOG POST
Britain's Religious Double Standard
King Charles and the nation's elite appear to defend only faiths other than Christianity
By John M. Grondelski | March 27th 2025 1:55 PMAnyone observing the UK this month will be struck by the absolute supineness with which Prime Minister Keir Starmer and other politicians have fallen over themselves to salute Ramadan and accentuate the “contributions” Islam has made to British society. One thing is for certain: they show themselves apt candidates for…
READ FULL BLOG POSTRandom Ruminations #22
Get Ready... Confused Catholicity... Permanent Foreigners... Liturgy Research... more
By John M. Grondelski | March 25th 2025 12:15 PMGet Ready Today is the Solemnity of the Annunciation. From today until Christmas is exactly nine months (for those of you who like to get "holiday" preparations underway early!). Today Jesus' Life began. Over the next several months, I'd like to remind readers on the 25th of just how Our…
READ FULL BLOG POSTLitany for Lawyers and Government Officials
Ecclesiastically approved for private devotion
By James Thunder | March 21st 2025 11:42 AMBelow is the Catholic Church’s first litany for lawyers and government officials. It has been ecclesiastically approved for private devotion. (Seven approved litanies exist for public devotion and dozens for private devotion.) I composed it for those who work, as I did, in the field of law as lawyers, legislators,…
READ FULL BLOG POSTRandom Ruminations #21
Let’s Get the Calendar... Unaccompanied Minors... Heaping Helping of Synodality... and more
By John M. Grondelski | March 20th 2025 11:33 AMLet’s Get the Calendar Minnesota Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar was on social media March 19, proclaiming it as “Medicaid Day of Action.” I expected that shortly thereafter, 46 other blue Senators would repeat the same talking points. Can I ask some mole to please get us the calendar of Democratic…
READ FULL BLOG POSTFinancial Accountability for the U.S. Church?
Thoughts on the idea of a 'Dallas Charter' for ecclesiastical finances
By John M. Grondelski | March 17th 2025 8:12 PMThe Pillar ran a piece March 14 asking, “Does the Church Need a ‘Dallas Charter’ on Money?” (linked below). The gist of the piece was that, as the original Dallas Charter of December 2002 was supposed to protect against clerical sexual abuse, so today a similar document may be needed to…
READ FULL BLOG POSTGrief Will Become Joy
Crying after death, and the balm given to us by our love, the Holy Spirit -- Part 6
By James Thunder | March 17th 2025 12:26 PMThe Holy Spirit will be our Comforter, our Healer, hovering over a cauldron of people in purgatory who are seething with anger, bubbling with resentment. In their heart of hearts, they love God, but they can’t help their feelings. Their anger and their love rise and fall like a heart’s…
READ FULL BLOG POSTWords, Roots, & Meaning
In the anamnesis we actively enter into the ongoing drama of our redemption
By James Hanink | March 17th 2025 11:57 AM“If memory serves,” I sometimes say, which puts my wife on alert. Is my selective amnesia (from the Greek ἀ- "without" and μνήσις "memory") about to kick in? Maybe, but even so I’m the family archivist. Blimey! Who gets assigned to foraging in our archives, fittingly located in the shed…
READ FULL BLOG POSTWe Need 'Reliable Jobs'
American business can and must include the worker
By John M. Grondelski | March 13th 2025 12:34 PMOren Cass, formerly of the Manhattan Institute and now of American Compass, is a public policy thinker I respect. I may not agree with everything he says -- for example, he’s willing to make peace with a “secular conservatism” to attract today’s young and religiously disaffiliated -- but I especially…
READ FULL BLOG POSTHealing in Purgatory
Crying after death, and the balm given us by our love, the Holy Spirit -- Part 5
By James Thunder | March 12th 2025 11:45 AMAs observed at the beginning of this essay, the “after” picture vis-à-vis purgatory is that there are no more tears. Consider the soothing words of Eucharistic Prayer No. 3: “There [in Your kingdom] we hope to enjoy forever the fullness of Your glory, when You will wipe away every tear…
READ FULL BLOG POSTAnguish in Purgatory
Crying after death, and the balm given us by our love, the Holy Spirit -- Part 4
By James Thunder | March 11th 2025 11:06 AMLet us continue our query of what causes anguish for those in purgatory, starting with losses or lost opportunities and then the wounds inflicted by others. Henry David Thoreau wrote, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation.”[1] In this…
READ FULL BLOG POSTNothing New under the Roman Sun
The latest twists and turns in the sordid Marko Rupnik affair
By John M. Grondelski | March 10th 2025 11:36 AMThe Italian website La Bussola Nuova Quotidiana continues to pose uncomfortable questions about ex-Jesuit Marko Rupnik, accused of sexual abuse; his seeming Cardinal Protector, Angelo De Donatis, former Vicar General (the Pope’s Administrator) of the Archdiocese of Rome and now the Church’s Major Penitentiary; and a convent in Montefiola, northeast…
READ FULL BLOG POSTA Good Film about Sin
It shows sin has its consequences and demands some measure of atonement
By John M. Grondelski | March 7th 2025 11:29 AMAs we settle into Lent, let me recommend a good film about sin worth watching: Sven Nykvist’s 1991 film The Ox. The film is set in 1867 Sweden. Mid-19th century Sweden was not like wealthy, 21st-century Sweden. There is a reason Minnesota and North Dakota have as many Swedes and…
READ FULL BLOG POSTTears over Our Sins & Death
Crying after death, and the balm given us by our love, the Holy Spirit -- Part 3
By James Thunder | March 6th 2025 12:33 PMWe continue our query of what happens in purgatory and what causes anguish for those in purgatory. Tears Over Our Sins While in purgatory, what will we remember exactly? Will we be given the ability to remember everything, both good and bad?[1] St. Augustine thought so. We may…
READ FULL BLOG POSTValue Enters the World with Life
What evolutionary naturalism misses
By James Hanink | March 5th 2025 5:09 PMLast week a gang of thieves shot and killed a fellow parishioner. The thugs were stripping the catalytic converter from a car, and he’d tried to stop them. At Sunday’s liturgy, our pastor spoke about the terrible loss and grief of the victim’s family. Many people in the congregation had…
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